Outlook

The third annual Labour Day Chinook Classic was a success again this year. A big thank you to all our volunteers and congratulations to all our winners! The winning catch was 26.58 lbs which sent Graydon Harris and team home with $25,000. It was a great day on the water raising awareness and funds for Capilano Little Ones School and the Pacific Salmon Foundation. We’ll see you all in 2015.

Sockeye fishing is still fairly productive in both fresh and saltwater. The PA Staff took to the North Arm on Monday for a little sockeye action. We hit a few good flurries of sockeye bites in the morning, and later tried for some chinook off T-10. We missed a few good bites, and to cap off the day Max landed a 16lb chinook.

If you are a river fisherman in the lower mainland, you are more than likely giddy with excitement as we look forward to the fall salmon season. Chinook, coho, and chum salmon will soon return to their natal streams giving us the opportunity to have some fantastic fishing within an hour drive from Vancouver. The first reports of chinook and coho should come from the Vedder and other Fraser tributaries in the next 2 weeks.

Upcoming Courses

 

MASTERING LOCAL SALTWATER SALMON FISHING

Class Size: 8

Over 50 million salmon migrate past Vancouver annually. Learn how to catch these fish with a Pacific Angler. This course offers an in-depth look at the local saltwater scene. We cover the local saltwater salmon fishing for the entire year, showing you the how, when, and where. This course includes a 3hr evening seminar and a fully guided day on the water in one of our Grady Whites with guide Jason Tonelli.

Cost: $250.00

Dates: Seminar on Sept 10th. Guided Sept 14th.

Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm

 

INTRODUCTION TO FLY FISHING

Class Size: 12

This course was specifically designed to give the new fly fisher the basic knowledge, casting skills and fly fishing strategies to effectively fish our local BC waters. This course is comprised of two sessions; 3hr evening seminar and a 3hr casting session. The seminar is held on the evening of the 23^rd and the casting session will be on the 28^th.

Cost: $125.00

Date: Sept 23rd & 28th

Seminar Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Casting Time(s): 10am – 1pm or 2pm -5pm

 

FALL SALMON RIVER FISHING: FLOATS, SPINNERS, & SPOONS

Class Size: 20

This 3hr evening seminar covers float fishing, spinner fishing and spoon fishing; the three most productive techniques to catch BC salmon in a river. Upgrade your seminar to include a fully guided day on the water, putting into practice your new knowledge with a Pacific Angler guide.

Seminar Only Cost: $45.00

Seminar & Guided Walk’n Wade Cost: $400 for one person or $500 for two people

Dates: Seminar on Sept 17th. Guided trip dates are flexible.

Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm

 

FLY FISHING FOR SALMON IN RIVERS – Andre Stepanian

Class Size: 8

Fly fishing for salmon is one of the most exciting fisheries in the Lower Mainland. Let us teach you the techniques and the hot spots to catch salmon on the fly in our local rivers. In the 3hr evening seminar you will learn about rod, reel and line, sink tip, and fly selection. Then put the skills into practice during a fully guided day on the water where you will learn how to read water and swing the fly!

Cost: $225.00

Dates: Seminar on Oct 1st. Guided Oct 4th or 5th.

Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm

 

 

Freshwater Reports

RIVERS

Squamish River

We are nearing the time of year when we hear the first rumors of coho being caught in the lower Squamish. It is still quite high and will remain so until the first cold fall nights arrive. This is an excellent river to fly fish for salmon in. The coho can be more aggressive in the Squamish than other lower mainland rivers and will often take big marabou flies swung on a tight line. The chum like pink and purple flashy marabou flies which will also catch coho in the same run. Chartreuse patterns can also be a deadly choice.

Squamish Cheakamus system is a 100% catch and release, bait-ban, and single barbless hook fishery so play by the rules and have fun!

 

Chilliwack River

The Fall salmon fishery is right around the corner on the Chilliwack system. The odd chinook and coho salmon can be encountered right now, but the fish will start to show in numbers around the end of the month.

Float fishing is the primary technique used to catch chinook and coho. The proper setup for float fishing is a 10-11′ medium power casting rod. Light action rods are excellent for coho, while those who are targeting chinook will benefit from a medium-heavy action rod. Roe, wool combinations, and colorado blades are all great float fishing presenations. Casting spinners and spoons is also deadly effective, especially for coho. 8-10’6″ spinning or casting rods are ideal for retrieving lures. Gibbs Koho and Croc spoons are good choices, as well as Blue Fox spinners.

You can also use a fly rod to target these fish. Coho can be readily caught on flies where as the chinook can be quite challenging with the fly rod. An 8wt single hand fly rod lined with a versi-tip system is ideal for this fishery. The versi-tip line allows you to quickly change out different sink tips to cover different speeds of water more efficiently. Small flash flies, muddler minnows, wooly buggers and even marabou popsicles will all work for coho.

Please familiarize yourselves with species identification as you may encounter Cultus Lake sockeye which must be carefully released.

 

Skagit River

The Skagit has actually been fishing quite well over the past week. Customers have reported some great dry fly action and a few big bulls have been taken on streamers. This is a great place to go in September if you are looking to do some trout fishing.

 

Thompson River

The Thompson is now full of salmon, making the trout fishing tough at times. Despite the abundance of salmon, September can be a fantastic time to fly fish for trout on both nymphs and dry flies. If you are heading up in the next little while, make sure to have a few egg patterns!

 

Chehalis River

Coho should start to show up in the system around mid month, but the fishing doesn’t usually get good until October. This can be a challenging fishery for coho because of the notoriously clear water. Fluorocarbon and smaller presentations can make a big difference once the season is under way.

Chinook are now closed to retention in the Chehalis until September 16th.

 

Capilano River

Unfortunately, this week’s rain was not enough for them to release the dam. Customers have been reporting very slow fishing with no chinook in the river yet. Stay tuned for the first of the fall rain!

The fall salmon fishery on the Capilano is right around the corner! This can be a very exciting time to fish. Because of the bait ban, we must use artificial baits to entice these brutes into biting. Spoons, colorado blades, wool ties, and jigs all catch fish. These fish will readily take artificial baits when they are fresh from the ocean and we advise everyone to keep your floats on.

Please note: ALL steelhead (adipose clipped and unclipped) must be released with the utmost care.

 Bait ban as of August 1st.

 

Non-tidal Fraser River

The Fraser Sockeye Fishery is still under way. We are still seeing fish swimming up river in numbers, many customers have been out reaping the benefits of the opening. With that being said, fishing can be slow at times due to commercial openings on the river. Check in with the Commercial Fisheries Notices online here. We may only have a couple weeks left so get out there while you still can.

The sturgeon fishery in the Upper and Lower Fraser has been fairly productive all summer. With the presence of salmon in the river, a good choice for bait would be sockeye salmon bellies and roe. Check this link to familiarize yourself with closures and regulations on the Fraser.

 

Interior Lakes

We have yet to hear of anyone venturing to the Interior as the weather has yet to cool off very much. We are looking forward to hearing some great reports this fall.

Start stocking the boxes with your favourite scud and leech patterns. Fall stillwater fishing can be a very exciting experience that not many people partake in!

 

Local Lakes

Late summer and early fall can be an excellent time to fish the Whistler lakes. As the weather cools off, the trout seem to really turn on the feed and move into shallower areas. For Alta cutthroat try olive Wooly Buggers, and Muddler Minnows in various colours and flash combinations. Don’t be afraid to crack out the big streamers for Green. Large flashy rabbit strip streamers work quite well for the bull trout on the drop offs.

Please remember that Alta and Green Lake are catch and release/bait ban fisheries.

 

Beach: (West Van)

There are a lot of coho right now at Ambleside and it is just going to get better as we approach the full moon cycle. I fished last week from a boat about 100ft from shore and hooked into a few coho that were finning on top. It was very tough to get them to take your offerings but at certain times the bite was definitely on. Do not cast at jumping fish as they are stale, wait and time yourself with a finning pod as they go by you. Make a cast about 5′ ahead of them and let them swim into your fly. If they don’t take your fly, then change and wait for the next chance. Anchor yourself on the path that they swimming instead of chasing them. Be patient and they will come to you. The best time is when the tide has leveled off and the currents ease off. At this time the fish tend to get settled in one area. When fishing from a boat, remember to use a clear tip line to get a little deeper than usual where you can encounter a fresh fish. There are also some Chinooks around that are more willing to bite your fly than coho but not as many. It looks like there won’t be any rain for some time so get out there and try your luck before the fall weather is upon us.

Remember Please remember that the ocean is for every one to enjoy. Respect each others space on the water if you are anchored or trolling.

Happy fishing,

Andre

Local Saltwater

The 2014 sockeye season has been awesome! As is with all types of fishing, there has been a few slow days with a few fish hooked but a lot of days where we’ve been filling the box with our guest’s limits. Most of the fishing has been off the North Arm of the Fraser, but schools can be found from the Bell Buoy to the South Arm. Chinook by-catch has not been uncommon while fishing for sockeye with pink hoochies. We had a day last week when we got a 12lb chinook on the morning trip followed by a hard fighting 20lb chinook on the afternoon trip along with a few sockeye. On days that we’ve had local trips or the weather is blowing over the sockeye grounds, we’ve been able to even find them along the Mile Markers and the Bell Buoy off Point Grey.

We have also been fishing off West Vancouver and have found some good sized coho and the odd chinook salmon as well. On a recent charter, we lost a beautiful 10lb coho right beside the boat and a big chinook after it peeled some line and then shook the lure. Anchovies rigged in the Frog, Spackle Back, Green Glo and Clear Chartreuse teaser heads have been working well. For chinook and coho flashers try Chartreuse Glo, Green Onion and UV flashers.

Last Saturday our guides participated in our Annual Labour Day Chinook Classic Catch and Release Derby and it was a nice change from sockeye fishing. The boats were scattered from the Bell Buoy to the South Arm of the Fraser and fish were continuously being reported from all areas throughout the day. The fish were being hit primarily in the 40′ to 60′ range, but we should note the winning fish was down in the 90′ range. Both herring and anchovies were the ticket with the same teaser heads we use for West Vancouver. There will still be tons of sockeye to stock the freezer with but the big chinooks are here and there’s more on the way!

 

Tight Lines,

 

Eddie

 

The P.A. Saltwater Guide Team:  Jason, Eddie, Dimitri, Todd, Mike 

 

Give us a call on our charter phone at 778-788-8582 to book a charter or come by the shop for all the right gear and some friendly advice.  The shop number is 604-872-2204.On behalf of the Pacific Angler staff we wish you the best in your fishing endeavors and we hope to see you either at the shop or on the water. To check out the latest Pacific Angler news view the Pacific Angler Facebook page.

 

Tight Lines,

 

Jason, Matt, Max, Andre, Sam, Eddie, Dimitri, Todd, Mike, Kathryn